Commemorative group honors Texas Navy

By Tumbleweed SmithMidland Reporter-Telegram

Published 7:00 pm, Sunday, October 11, 2009

The Texas Navy was founded in 1836 when the new republic was faced with invasion on land and sea by overwhelming forces from Mexico. The modest fleet was composed of four sailing vessels headquartered at Galveston. They protected the Texas coast and prevented the Mexican government from landing troops there. Had the army landed, it would have trapped Gen. Sam Houston and his small command. Historians agree that one of the most important elements in the victory at San Jacinto was the maritime activity of the Texas Navy. After the Battle of San Jacinto, Mexican Gen. Santa Anna was held prisoner on one of the Texas Navy ships. The Navy was disbanded soon after that battle.

But the battle for Texas independence didn't stop at San Jacinto. Mexico refused to acknowledge the upstart nation and in 1839 began to organize a new and much larger expedition against the Texas Republic. A second Texas Navy was sent to sea with eight ships under the command of young Commodore Edwin Moore. The fleet harassed the Mexican Navy from the Rio Grande to Yucatan for three years, finally claiming victory over Mexico at the Battle of Campeche. The Mexican government then abandoned invasion plans.

The Texas Navy provided protection of its 1,000 miles of shoreline until Texas joined the United States in 1845. The U.S. Navy absorbed the modest little ships of the Texas Navy.

The story of those small fleets was largely forgotten until Gov. Price Daniel established a third Texas Navy as a commemorative organization in 1958 to preserve the history of those early Texas sailors. Today, Texans are honored with commissions as Texas Navy admirals for noteworthy service to the state of Texas.

Jim Sterling of Liberty is on the organization's board of directors.

"Our organization has about 400 members. We have an active board that meets four or five times a year. Eventually we hope to have occasional regattas in the Gulf of Mexico," he says.

Membership in the organization is mostly honorary, but anyone can join for $40. The official uniform is a blue blazer wit h a Texas Navy patch and a Texas Navy tie.

"We have an annual meeting every December down in Galveston at the Artillery Club,"says Jim."It's a Christmas party and is usually a packed house. Members come from all over the state. Everybody there is an admiral."

One obvious thing is missing from the Texas Navy.

"We don't have a ship," says Jim. "And right now I'm boatless. But I do have the blazer, the patch and the tie. I even have an official Texas Navy flag."